St George Illawarra Dragons face a daunting trip to Suncorp Stadium to keep pace with the top eight when they face the in-form Brisbane Broncos in NRL Round 24 action on Friday night.

Inconsistency is the word to use when describing the Dragons’ last month of football. St George Illawarra registered huge wins, scoring close to a combined 100 points in beating Manly and Gold Coast, but they’ve also suffered poor defeats to the lowly Knights and Rabbitohs.

It’s left the Dragons outside the top eight with just three games of the regular season remaining – something that was unthinkable when they were leading the competition around ANZAC Day.

And now the Dragons need to overturn some intimidating records against the Broncos to maintain ninth spot and keep their finals chances alive.

St George Illawarra haven’t won at Suncorp Stadium since 2009 and have lost 11 of their last 12 games against the Broncos, being kept below 12 points in their last four meetings.

With the Broncos currently in red hot form, scoring a combined 84 points in huge wins over the Titans and defending premiers Cronulla over the last fortnight, it certainly doesn’t get any easier for the Dragons on Friday night.

Those wins have lifted the Broncos to second spot on the ladder and improved their points differential to 160, meaning a win on Friday would all but secure a top four finish.

Brisbane are simply a level above the Dragons right now, and when you take their recent record into consideration, there’s only going to be one winner here. Broncos to win in routine fashion.

Having both suffered contrasting but equally as crushing defeats last week, how will the Dragons and Titans respond as the end of the regular season begins to draw to a dramatic close?

While the Titans have already started planning their end-of-season getaway, the Dragons are battling for September survival, and after looking like finals certainties just a couple of months ago, they are not fighting for a spot in the eight with just four games to go in 2017.

After such a brilliant start the Dragons have been extremely disappointing since the Origin period, barely winning matches and slipping from the top four to ninth.

With the chance to cement finals footy over the last fortnight, the Dragons have surrounded meekly, going down to the Raiders and then blowing a 10-point lead with just 10 minutes to go during last week’s loss to the Rabbitohs at the SCG.

It’s simply not good enough for a team that harbours ambitions of playing finals football, but thankfully for the Dragons, they are coming up against a side this week who have just suffered the heaviest defeat of any club in the competition this season.

Gold Coast, after keeping Brisbane at bay for the first 23 minutes of last week’s showdown, conceded almost a point a minute in receiving a 54-0 beatdown in front of their own fans.

With wins over both of last year’s grand finalists Melbourne and Cronulla this season, the Titans haven’t been able to conjure up consistent performances in 2017 – and as last week so perfectly illustrated, there’s way too big of a gap between their best and worst displays, which just isn’t good enough to feature in September.

Gold Coast’s season has been over for a while now, but they can still prove a thorn in the side of teams looking to wrap up top four and top eight finishes – starting with the Dragons this week.

And the Titans have a solid recent record against the Dragons, winning three of their last four meetings – including a 20-10 win back in Round 17. But surely, with their season on the line, the Dragons – in front of their own fans – will find a way to beat a team that conceded 54 points seven days ago.

Hame Sele and Blake Lawrie join the Dragons’ bench in place of Jacob Host and Jake Marketo, while Kevin Proctor comes back into the Titans side at the expense of Agnatius Paasi.

The Rabbitohs have won eight of the last 10 matches played against the Dragons. The Dragons won last year’s clash at the SCG 8-6, with wingers Jason Nightingale and Alex Johnston the only try-scorers for their respective teams.

St George Illawarra are in eighth spot with a 10-9 record. The Saints enter this off a shocking loss to Newcastle where they went down 21-14 and have won just four of their last 12 games. Prior to the Knights loss the Dragons put on 52 against Manly, their first half-century in a decade. South Sydney are 14th on the ladder with a 6-13 record. They have lost four straight – the last three by margins of 13-plus – and 10 of their last 13. Souths have averaged just 13 points per game over the last month. Their last win away from ANZ was against an understrength Penrith team in Round 6.

Clinging on to a top eight spot following last week’s disastrous performance against wooden spoon favourites Newcastle, Friday night’s showdown with the Rabbitohs is looming as a must-win clash for the struggling Dragons.

It seems perplexing to label the Dragons as struggling just two weeks after they battered the Sea Eagles in the first match in a decade where they’ve scored 50 points, but that’s exactly the situation we find ourselves in.

St George Illawarra have only won four of their last 12 games – remember they were leading the competition a few months ago – and come into this encounter on the back of a loss to the embattled Knights.

If the Panthers beat the Tigers on Sunday and the Dragons fail to defeat Souths, then the joint-venture outfit will drop out the eight and face an uphill battle for the remainder of the season to break back in.

However, while the Dragons are down on confidence, they really should have too much in the tank for the underwhelming Rabbitohs.

South Sydney, apart from a big win over Penrith a month ago, haven’t made an impact all season long and have lost their last four matches and 10 of their last 13.

The Rabbitohs haven’t been close to winning any games recently, losing their last three by a 13+ margin, while their last win away from ANZ Stadium was against the Panthers all the way back in Round 6.

St George Illawarra Dragons will be looking to back up their phenomenal display of last week when they face resident battlers Newcastle Knights on Saturday at McDonald Jones Stadium.

On the back of last week’s 52-22 thrashing of the Manly Sea Eagles, the Dragons will he aiming to move one step closer towards cementing a finals spot when they clash with the Knights in NRL Round 21 action on Saturday afternoon in Newcastle.

Coming into the Manly showdown in poor form and with their early-season momentum well and truly squashed, many were predicting the Dragons to fall outside the top eight in the coming weeks.

However St George Illawarra produced their best performance for the season and their most potent attacking display in years, putting 50 points on the then third-placed Sea Eagles and once agains signalling their intention as genuine premiership threats.

Now the Dragons must deliver a repeat performance as the favourites – and they will be hoping for an improved showing from their last meeting, which the Knights would still be ruing today.

Newcastle surged out of the blocks back in Round 16 and quickly put together a 28-10 lead heading into the break. But, as has been the problem with them all season, they couldn’t produce an 80-minute performance, and the Dragons came back strongly in the second stanza to complete a narrow victory.

It’s been the story of the Newcastle’s season really – try hard, put in the effort and enjoy successful periods during games, but when push comes to shove, they are simply lacking the class to compete with sides for the full 80 minutes.

The Knights were once again brave last week against competition heavyweights the Roosters, but three quick tries in the last 20 minutes to the Tricolours sealed their fate and an eighth loss on the bounce.

Newcastle know they can match it with the Dragons, but the joint-venture outfit will be brimming with confidence following their demolition of Manly, and they have a tremendous record in the Hunter. You’d expect the Dragons to kick on and put some more distance between themselves and the chasing finals pack.

Flying high in the top four and establishing themselves as genuine premiership contenders, can the Manly Sea Eagles register just their second win at WIN Stadium over the St George Illawarra Dragons on Sunday?

After a tougher-than-expected victory over the Tigers last week, Trent Barrett will be hoping for a more polished performance from his side – and he will need it when you remember how the Dragons gave Manly a touch up in Round 6, crushing them 35-10 at Lottoland.

However the Dragons have since gone from competition leaders and top four hopefuls to clinging onto a top eight spot.

With just one win from their last five games and coming off a heartbreaking golden point loss to the Raiders last week, the Dragons are now in legitimate danger of missing out on the eight – a thought that seemed ridiculous a month or so ago.

A big win to the Panthers over Gold Coast could see the Dragons slip to ninth if they also suffer a bad loss to the Sea Eagles, so this is looming as something as a must-win game for the joint-venture outfit in terms of once again enjoying some breathing space.

St George Illawarra’s attack was the best in the competition over the first 10 rounds or so, but lately it’s been pretty dire, while the Sea Eagles have roared to life in that department, with the resurgent Daly Cherry-Evans leading the charge.

Manly haven’t been great over the last fortnight, losing to Penrith and struggling against the Tigers, but the Dragons aren’t really threatening at the moment, and this could be a nice game for them to recapture their groove. The Dragons might provide more resistance at WIN Stadium, but I expect the Sea Eagles’ class to shine through.

Tyson Frizell and Jack de Belin are back in the starting forward pack for the Dragons, while Euan Aitken returns at centre.

Manly lose Apisai Koroisau and Matthew Wright to injury, with Brad Parker coming onto the wing and Cameron Cullen slotting in at hooker.

Canberra Raiders are tasked with a must-win clash against the St George Illawarra Dragons when the two sides square off in NRL Round 19 action at GIO Stadium on Friday night.

Playing in front of their home fans in the nation’s capital, the time has come for the Raiders to put up or shut up as they attempt to make a last-minute dash to the finals.

After making the preliminary finals and playing some magical football last season, many believed Canberra would be up their challenging for the minor premiership in 2017.

Unfortunately that couldn’t be further from the truth, with the Raiders languishing in 11th spot on the competition ladder and three wins outside the top eight.

Nobody can really pinpoint why Canberra have suffered such a dramatic fall from grace. They still look dangerous in attack and their defence is solid, but sort of like the Roosters last year, they just haven’t been able to win any close games.

Perhaps a do-or-die clash against a team in the middle of a potential collapse could be the spark Canberra needs to recapture their 2016 form?

St George Illawarra are really struggling at the moment and have slipped from competition leaders to seventh spot after a challenging Origin period – which doesn’t really have anything to do with losing players to the interstate series.

The Dragons have only won one of their last four games – and that was a last-minute come-from-behind win over the last-placed Newcastle Knights.

Still, the Dragons are just three wins away from reaching 28 points – the mark that is usually enough to secure a spot in the finals.

It’s another tough game to predict. I’ve placed so much faith in the Raiders this season, but they’ve disappointed time and time again. But on the other hand, I have a feeling the Dragons are slipping – and I don’t think they were actually that great to begin with. I’ll lean with the Raiders one last time.

Josh Hodgson returns at hooker for the Raiders, with Kurt Baptiste moving back to the bench and Scott Sorenson dropping out the side.

St George Illawarra Dragons will be aiming to snap their three-match losing streak when they travel across the ditch to face the New Zealand Warriors in the first game on Friday night in NRL Round 11 action.

After leading the competition at one stage last month, the Dragons have dropped to fifth on the ladder on the back of three straight defeats and a bad injury toll, but this clash in New Zealand against the erratic Warriors looms as an excellent chance for Paul McGregor’s side to get back on track.

The Dragons hold a dominant record over the Warriors, winning 20 of their 25 meetings and losing just once in their last 13 showdowns.

Despite going winless over the last three weeks, the Dragons have competed superbly, and they have only suffered close losses to competition powerhouses the Roosters, Storm and Sharks.

With Gareth Widdop and Josh Dugan missing with injury, the Dragons have perhaps lacked that killer edge in the attacking third, but they are still extremely hard to break down, which will certainly frustrate the Warriors.

The Warriors produced a sensational opening half to lead the Panthers 28-6 at halftime last week, but a catastrophic second half collapse saw the Warriors go scoreless, with Penrith fighting back to win 36-28.

Unfortunately, it speaks volumes to the Warriors’ inconsistency over the years that it wasn’t even really surprising. It’s what has held the Warriors back in recent seasons, and until they can put together 80-minute performances, they won’t be playing finals football.

The Warriors showed they can be the most dangerous team in the competition in their first half blitz of the Panthers, but they also can be the worst team in the NRL, as illustrated through their second stanza display.

St George Illawarra have transformed into one of the most professional sides in the competition, and coupled with their great record against the Warriors, they should be disciplined enough to come away with the two points.